Information, thoughts, feelings … we put it all out there for our friends, co-workers, and strangers to see (in some cases). We also share our opinions about specific products, people, articles, videos, and brands. Because the publishing world has been cracked open and made available to everyone, both on a blogging level and a status update level, we can begin to build both our individual reputation and our brand.

Brands used to pay big money for this type of power.

Now it’s free.

Building your brand with the social web isn’t just about attracting as many followers possible … some brands and most celebrities pay money for this, but it’s not powerful … and thus doesn’t cost much money. No. Building your brand with the social web can’t take place until you’re open to getting down in the trenches with your following.

Talk with them, not to them.

Listen and think about what they’re telling you. It matters.

Once you’re at that point, you can start building your brand.

Blog about what they want to read

If you’re writing a blog for readers, then you need to consider what your readers want to read. In a way, you’re a movie director and the only person you should be thinking about the whole time is the person watching your movie. Blog for your reader.

If you’re blogging for yourself, as many bloggers start out doing, then you don’t need to worry about this right now. Sure, it will help you because your readers might appreciate it, but you also risk losing some of your core readership if you begin writing for new visitors. If you have a loyal following, then they’re probably right there with you, learning, and on the same page. You’re leading the way of course, but they’re experiencing much of the same thing … so when you begin to publish content for new visitors, your loyal readers are thrown off. This comes down to a decision you have to make — do you want to attract new followers and provide a well-rounded experincing or do you want to continue forward at your own pace and publish for that group of loyal followers?

Perhaps there’s a happy middle ground?

This kind of brings us to the next point, which is something a lot of bloggers tend to lose when the begin blogging for the reader.

Be yourself

If you’re not yourself, then who are you!?

Too many bloggers try to be someone they’re not. It doesn’t matter if it’s celebrity, pro blogger, or whatever — it’s easy to see through. Be yourself and do your thing … if you’re true to you, then your readers will like you for who you are, not for who you’re trying to be. Be transparent and express yourself.

Acknowledge your readers

Build your brand by thanking or spotlighting your readers. Every appreciates the occasional credit or highlight now and then, but doing this publicly in front of everyone else will strike a chord with not only the reader you’re highlighting, but the rest of your readers as well.

The way you do this is up to you. Brands do this in a variety of different ways, so it’s up to you to come up with the way you’re going to showcase your reader.

It comes down to Word of Mouth

The social web provides everyone the chance to level with friends, strangers, customers, trolls — whoever!

Take advantage of this and always strive to create good word of mouth … people are going to talk, so it might as well be geared toward your favor, right?

The strategy of positioning a website in social networks must be coherent and in concordance with the general business strategy of the company, and the efforts to position the website online need real and reachable objectives. We always say that the positioning strategy is the one that must guide the webmaster in choosing his social media platform. One thing is certain: without social media, a website can’t survive today, therefore it is important to have a strong online presence, and this can only be done with a good marketing campaign.

Implementing and choosing the social media platform

how to choose the social media website

hot to target a public

implementing the campaign

it is known that the social media environment know a massive developing during the latest years, and choosing the best communicational environments is a key factor in developing a long term marketing campaign, whether we are talking about a personal blog or an online solid business.

The unequaled possibilities of targeting place the social media as a way of communicating, creating a quick connection between the consumers and brands. However, if you want to reach the desired results, you should always establish a targeted public and the type of campaign that is mostly suited for those targets. It is just like creating a TV commercial. You can’t sell expensive watches with simple teleshopping that is only effective in case of cosmetic products and appliances. A good campaign must not only find a target, but it must also be designed to have the desired impact on the respective target.

Why should you choose a marketing campaign through social media?

Because there is the public From MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn, to personal blogs and podcasts, the social networking sites enjoy a massive popularity, and your business can reach communities that are already formed and interested about your products. There, you will find people and you can communicate in their language, with the help of a solid social media campaign.

On the other hand, there are some webmasters that consider a Fan’s page on Facebook and a few tweets on Twitter as a good marketing campaign. The social media represents a useful tool, but it is also dangerous. It is true that the news about a new product of yours spreads fast, but a rumor about some bad products or about a problem with your company spread even faster. This is why, it is recommended to use the specialized companies for such a campaign, even if it will cost you some money.

The specialized companies will offer you the next plan usually:

establishing the audience and the targeted public

creating good fan’s pages, blogs and posting on forums to promote your business

A reputational campaign – no matter how good your products are and how exceptional your services are, there is no way to avoid bad comments about your business. Those reputation campaigns will clear your name from those unwanted comments, making sure that your name is clear and that your visitors will only see positive comments about your business.

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Google+ now allows users to transfer their connections they have built up between their accounts. Say you are a web developer and have a lot of professional friends and you finally create your business Google+ page. Now you don’t have to re-create the wheel and you can transfer the ones you want from your former account to the new Google+ account.

To start the process of transferring Google+ circles and other connections between accounts, you need to click Google+ circles transfer tool at the Google Takeout. The tool transfers your Google+ circles and connections from the “source” account to a “destination” account. It replaces your source profile with your destination profile in other people’s circles. The circles, connections, members, “your circles” settings, people, and pages you’ve blocked/ignored will stay the same within the transfer.

Requesting a transfer

To request a transfer you must follow these steps in the Google+ circles transfer tool.

Wait for the 7-day waiting period before your transfer begins.

You can cancel the transfer before it starts. Just sign in to either account on Google+, and then click Cancel transfer at the bottom of the page (this is not available on mobile interfaces).

If your source/destination accounts are managed by an organization, the account administrator can restrict your ability to transfer your connections and/or use Google+.

You cannot use this tool with these accounts for 6 months.

Once the transfer begins it cannot be cancelled or undone.

Limited Google+ functionality during transfer

When in the progress of transferring your accounts, you will have limited functionality on Google+ from both accounts. The restrictions will be:

You will not be able to share content on Google+

You will not be able to add or remove people to and from circles

You will not have the ability to lock or ignore people

If you have added the account profiles to their circles, you won’t be able to add, remove, block or ignore that profile during the transfer. The transfer will take about 48 hours to complete.

Post-transfer

When the transfer is complete, circles, blocks, and ignores are copied from the source to destination account. Your content from the source (profile info, posts, or comments), authorship information, and Google+ pages that you manage with your source account will not be transferred to the destination account.

Your source account profile will still exist in your source account; however, it will be replaced with your destination account in other people’s circles. You will now notice that the number in the “Have you in circles” feature still shows that people have your source profile in their circles, the count may take a few days to update. If you don’t need your source account profile you can downgrade the profile and then select your Google+ data from your source account.

When the transfer is complete, your circles, blocks, and ignores are copied from the source account to the destination account. Circles in the destination account with the same names are merged. Content from your source account (such as profile information, posts, or comments) is not transferred to the destination account. Similarly, authorship information and Google+ pages that you manage with your source account will also not be transferred. However, this content, pages, and authorship information still exist in your source account.

If you decide to keep the source account profile, you might want to delete any content like posts, comments, and photos that were posted by the source account. This allows less confusion on the previous content and information for your connections. And you can uncheck the option that helps others to discover your profile in search results.

Increase your Online Marketing exposure in 2012 with the above tips and contact us if you need assistance.

Eric is a online marketer and search engine optimization specialist (SEO). In his free time, Eric enjoys exercise, motorcycles, technology, and spending time with family and friends. Connect with him on Google+

]]>http://www.fuelyourblogging.com/how-to-transfer-google-connections-between-accounts/feed/0Will Facebook Monetize Their Wildly Popular App?http://www.fuelyourblogging.com/will-facebook-monetize-their-wildly-popular-app/
http://www.fuelyourblogging.com/will-facebook-monetize-their-wildly-popular-app/#commentsThu, 30 Aug 2012 07:51:25 +0000Aidan Hijlehhttp://www.fuelyourblogging.com/?p=4769The mobile channel is finally starting to take off like experts predicted it would years ago. With more than 450 million users connecting through Facebook Mobile, you would think that the social giant would be a factor in the areas of social marketing and advertising, but that is not the case. In fact, at this point, it is more like a non-factor. The fact is that Facebook is struggling in the mobile domain and needs to turn things around quickly.

Small Fish in a Big Pond

Although it isn’t cleaning up like Google, Facebook does pretty well with display ads. In 2011, more than 85% of its revenue came from advertising. However, most of that dough comes from ads that are running on desktops, which is where the Facebook experience is definitely the strongest. Before going public, the company openly admitted that it is not seeing any meaningful revenue gain from its mobile platform. What is even more disturbing is that the mighty social giant appeared to be at a lost for a solution as even headman Mark Zuckerberg admitted that finding a way to capitalize on the mobile rush is one of the biggest challenges ahead of the team.

While Facebook is currently thriving as a force from the desktop side of social marketing and advertising, its reign there could be numbered. Slowly but surely, the number of PC users in the U.S. is declining as more people are turning to smartphones and tablets for their computing needs. The more users continue to trend mobile, the more concerning things could get for Facebook. Even though people are increasingly turning to the mobile version of the site, the company’s inability to monetize all that traffic means that it could be losing revenue with no way to make it up. The slow decline of the PC in the U.S. in correlation to Facebook’s advertising revenue will be something to watch.

Getting on the Mobile Track

On the bright side, at least Facebook is making an effort to strengthen its presence in the mobile realm. The company is now offering mobile ad units to advertisers, and according to recent data, this format is four times more engaging than Twitter’s direct competitor. If these ads keep producing for marketers, Facebook can raise the price, offer more formats, and finally start earning some “meaningful” revenue. There has also been speculation around a smartphone with the company’s name attached to it, which could be something else that might give it new life outside of the desktop environment.

Facebook has a long road of it, but if there is any company that could turn things around and get on track it would be this one. There is much to be optimistic about with mobile-friendly acquisitions such as Instagram and more recently Spool, a Digg-like service that has become popular with smartphone users. The opportunities are there. Will Facebook take advantage?

]]>http://www.fuelyourblogging.com/will-facebook-monetize-their-wildly-popular-app/feed/0Listen to Your Readers Negative Feedbackhttp://www.fuelyourblogging.com/listen-to-your-readers-negative-feedback/
http://www.fuelyourblogging.com/listen-to-your-readers-negative-feedback/#commentsFri, 24 Aug 2012 15:18:16 +0000Christopherhttp://www.fuelyourblogging.com/?p=4784We recently published a helpful guest post about connecting with customers over at FuelYourVenture, and it touched on a few points I felt bloggers could use as well so I wanted to look at one relating to conversation with you here.

An opportunity is an opportunity

Nic touches on the fact that not all connection sparks from positive interaction … sometimes it spawns from the other side.

Even negative interaction can serve as a starting point for your dialog.

For the blogger, this can be especially try as a lot of commenters sometimes post their thoughts without much filtering. If you’re on top of your comment moderation, you might just be able to connect with this type of commenter and prove you care about their feedback. This could in turn lead to a conversation … and conversations lead to a deeper connection.

How many times have you received a bit of negative feedback?

If you’ve been blogging for a while, probably quite a bit. It happens. It comes with the territory and responsibility of publishing. How you address that negativity, however, is what will set you apart from those that connect and inspire positivity and those that connect and inspire more negativity.

Acknowledge their criticism

Let them know that you hear them. One way I’ve found pretty successful is to thank them for pointing it out and revealing that it’s easy to lose sight of things sometimes because of how close you are to your work. Tell them you appreciate their feedback and that it will help you strive to be better.

This alone has, in my experience, lead to more subscribers in some cases, because it reveals that you care enough to take their criticism into consideration moving forward.

This approach may not be for everyone, but it’s worked for me and I’ve seen it work for others as well.

Ask them for more

Another strategy you might consider when faced with negative feedback is to ask for more. It might sound crazy at first, but imagine it from the other side … it reveals the person being criticized actually cares about your thoughts. So instead of writing it off as pure negativity with not value, try to squeeze the lemon while you can and get as much feedback as you can. This usually turns into positive feedback, as the person criticizing you will realize you care and feel the need to encourage you despite their initial negative feedback.

This doesn’t happen in all cases, but I’ve seen it several times before.

What’s your approach?

How do you deal with this type of feedback — do you try to turn into into a connection? Have you had success with this approach in your experience?

Professional social network LinkedIn is one of the latest companies to be victimized on the web. As a result of the data breach, millions of user passwords were exposed. While no further damage was said to have been suffered, namely accounts being broken into, just knowing that such sensitive information was comprised seemed to be enough to rattle some of the community. For users, there are some tough lessons regarding the security of social media sites.

No System is Safe

The LinkedIn breach confirms what most security experts already know – no system is 100% safe from attack. While the company claims to have top-notch security in the way of technology and manpower, the fact remains that in this case, it failed to protect sensitive user data. The passwords of its users ended up on a Russian discussion board where hackers openly boasted about stealing them. Apparently password strength didn’t matter here because outsiders got in and got away with a huge chunk of information.

Damage Control Runs Its Course

Shortly after being notified of the breach, LinkedIn took to damage control in attempt to keep user concern to a minimum. The company explained that it was looking into the matter, alongside the FBI no less, and aggressively pursuing the perpetrators. It was interesting to note how LinkedIn mentioned that while only passwords were leaked, it quickly disabled accounts believed to be at risk. Some security experts believe that if hackers got a hold of those passwords, then the matching usernames were not far behind, seeing how the two are generally connected. If this is the case, then it may appear that LinkedIn isn’t being totally honest with its users.

It’s a Slippery Slope

After more details came out, it was discovered that LinkedIn’s lapse in security was likely the reason for the breach. Apparently the passwords were hashed, but not salted, which would have provided an added layer of protection to make them less vulnerable to attack. LinkedIn will reportedly start salting all its passwords, but what’s done is done. When it comes to security, it is unfortunate to know that there really isn’t much social media users can do. Their fate is the hands of the LinkedIns, Facebooks, and Twitters they trust with their information. It’s either that or leave the party, and how many people are willing to go that route?

LinkedIn wasn’t the only victim in the latest round of hacking. The passwords from Last.fm and eHarmony were also compromised. While the companies have been playing things pretty cool, users would be wise to treat this matter more seriously. Hackers know that people often use the same password for multiple sites, so users of these services might want to change things up, just in case those usernames were connected as well. I’m pretty sure there are some accounts you’d much rather the bad guys stay away from.

So you now have a great working website up, containing helpful and interesting information along with the product that you are selling. And because you are very confident of how great a job you have done, you are somehow surprised that there are only a handful of people that visit your site. What could be the problem?

Once you finished building your website, your work does not stop from here. In fact, it is the beginning of your work. Owning and running a website should be accompanied with promotion. Think of your website as a party. If you do not send out invitations, no one will show up because they do not know that it exists. After all, the World Wide Web is a humungous arena that is continually growing. Every day, about 150,000 new domains are registered.

Website promotion sure is very important but how exactly does it work? Whether you hire yourself a developer or you have decided to do things on your own, there are a variety of online and offline strategies to promote your website. Let’s go through a few of them.

Traditional Promotion

There are many that still make use of the conventional strategies of website promotion. You can include the URL of your website in all your business stationeries like your letterhead, brochures, business cards, and all other printed materials that are sued or are related to your company. You can also use other means like TV and print media and include the name and address of your website. Keep in mind that it print media, you do not have to add the “http://” appendage.

Email Promotion

You can actively and effectively promote your website by sending regular email to your customers. This will require you to have a mailing list. In your signature at the end of your emails, ensure that you add a link to your website. Send out regular newsletters that mentions your website and includes a link of it. Also invite people to give their emails and be a part of your mailing list. In your newsletters, give special offers to keep them reminded of your website and even entice them to visit it. Give special coupons that are redeemable in your website. Just remember to not spam. This is illegal in many countries and will only cost you customers in the long run.

Social Media Promotion

Because they have now become a hub for interaction, link posting, and commenting, social media makes for a great place to get your website noticed by your target market. Social networking sites along with social bookmarking site, forums, blogs, and all the other kinds of social media can be used to generate traffic to your website in a variety of ways.

Websites like LinkedIn and Facebook are great avenues to get your website out there. Your customers and your friends or networks can comment on your product or service which can generate interest among others. You can also start a business blog and talk about the product or service that you are offering. For as long as you put up helpful and relevant content regularly, people will constantly be coming back to your website for more.

Amy C. owns a flourishing business. She uses her wide knowledge and experience in online promotion and marketing. She also shares this with her readers. In her spare time, Amy helps with the blogging and administrative activities of DMac Industries, a metal siding panels and steel roof deck company. Watch out for her next post for to learn more of her marketing tips and techniques.

Kristine owns a flourishing business. She uses her wide knowledge and experience in online promotion and marketing. She also shares this with her readers. In her spare time, Kristine helps with the blogging and administrative activities of Broadband Expert, an internet providers and isp comparison by speed. Watch out for her next post to learn more of her marketing tips and techniques.

]]>http://www.fuelyourblogging.com/a-beginner%e2%80%99s-quick-guide-to-website-promotion/feed/315 Social Media Etiquette Dos and Dont’shttp://www.fuelyourblogging.com/15-social-media-etiquette-dos-and-donts/
http://www.fuelyourblogging.com/15-social-media-etiquette-dos-and-donts/#commentsTue, 07 Aug 2012 12:00:44 +0000Sara Carterhttp://www.fuelyourblogging.com/?p=4636Social media is exceedingly popular, and more and more people are connecting on these sites than ever before. On these sites, as in physical places where people connect, there is a certain etiquette that people should abide by in order to make others comfortable and for them to have the best experience possible. The following 15 tips are dos and don’ts that can help you to hone your social media etiquette.

1. Do fill out your profile

When your fill out your profile, you are helping your contacts see that they really are connecting with the real you, not an imposter or a bot. This can help to facilitate connections and give others confidence.

2. Don’t use any image but your own as your profile photo

An image of your smiling face can again help others be confident that they are indeed talking to the real you. Images of your children or pets may be cute, but they don’t let others know that they are connecting with a normal, real adult. If you are using social media professionally, this is even more important.

3. Do separate business and pleasure

Keep separate Facebook, Twitter and other social profiles for your professional life or business. It is good to have a presence on these sites, but it shouldn’t be the same one you use to share pictures of your vacation and talk about crazy nights on the town.

4. Don’t get mad if someone doesn’t want to be your fan or friend

If someone denies a request or doesn’t accept it in a timely manner, leave it be. Some people only connect with very close family or friends on these sites, and others only use them for shopping or for work. Don’t ask why you weren’t added or get angry.

5. Do pick screen names that put your best foot forward

DrunkenPartyGary99 may not be the best name if you want to connect with colleagues, clients, or relatives. Your name should paint a positive perception.

6. Don’t post anything that offends

This goes double if you are using the social network professionally. If it is crude, rude, lewd, or controversial, these public forums probably aren’t the place for them.

7. Do share things that are useful, entertaining, informative, or otherwise valuable

Social sites are about sharing. Your friends and fans will appreciate it if you pass along valuable content that benefits them in one way or another.

8. Don’t repeat yourself

It is one thing to be on message, but it is another to sound like a broken record. If you constantly are reiterating your political views, talking about the kind of ladies you like, or trying to sell some cool new herbal supplements, your fans, friends, or followers will get bored and jump ship fast.

9. Do comment on what others say

Social media is about being social. These sites are supposed to be a dialogue, and if you aren’t commenting, you aren’t part of the community.

10. Don’t spam

Like not repeating yourself, this is worse. If you start spamming your fans or followers, they will stop trusting you and you will lose influence.

11. Do show respect

Like anywhere else, on these sites you should talk to others like you would want to be talked to.

12. Don’t post when you are impaired

When you are drunk, tired, or in an otherwise altered state, you should stay away from social media sites. Not only may you say something you could regret, but you will probably say it with poor grammar and spelling.

13. Do proofread

Just because others spell poorly doesn’t mean you should. Correct, edited posts will make you look smart and polished, and your friends will appreciate how readable your content is.

14. Don’t friend or follow people only to get them to buy something

Social media can be a great tool; it isn’t a secret. You shouldn’t use the people on the site as tools however.

15. Do be real

Being genuine isn’t only appreciated on these sites, it is what will lead you to ultimate success on them. People will appreciate your approach, and you will get greater results because of it.

]]>http://www.fuelyourblogging.com/15-social-media-etiquette-dos-and-donts/feed/5Why Friend Finder is a Strong Asset to Bloggershttp://www.fuelyourblogging.com/why-friend-finder-is-a-strong-asset-to-bloggers/
http://www.fuelyourblogging.com/why-friend-finder-is-a-strong-asset-to-bloggers/#commentsWed, 30 May 2012 14:49:54 +0000Aidan Hijlehhttp://www.fuelyourblogging.com/?p=4068Many bloggers use WordPress as their tool of choice for publishing and sharing content with the world. One of the biggest parts of the whole experience is connecting and networking with others who share your passion. Now there are quite a few ways to go about seeking out these connections. WordPress itself offers some options, including its Friend Finder feature. Unfortunately, this function hasn’t always been the most reliable, but that has all changed thanks to a recent update.

Better Friend Finding Functionality

WordPress recently introduced a new and improved version of Friend Finder, which of course, is not to be confused with the online dating service. Previously, this feature was rarely used due to its lack of efficiency. In fact, several bloggers reported lackluster results when using it to find contacts on the popular blogging platform, which is in stark contrast to the reputation similar features on other sites have established for being fairly accurate. Users who have switched over to the updated, social-friendly feature are reporting amazing efficiency and good things overall.

For a blogger, having the ability to easily find contacts throughout the blogosphere and social web can be a tremendous luxury. A simple search, for example, could lead you to discover an old friend or colleague who has a blog similar to your own. This might lead to a situation where the two of you start sharing ideas, helping each other drive traffic, and doing other things that improve your blogging efforts. And with the updated Friend Finder leveraging a popular blogging platform like WordPress and social networks such as Facebook, in particular, you are much more likely to be led to something good rather than a dead end.

Finding and Using Friend Finder

The new and improved Friend Finder for WordPress makes it incredibly easy to search the social networks for contacts. All you have to do login to your blog administrative panel, go to the “Readers” section at the top of the page, and click on the “Friend Finder” tab. Next, simply choose the service you want to use to find contacts on, and give WordPress access to perform the search. From there, Friend Finder will search the blog platform’s vast database for any blogs that match your query based on the social networking account you specified.

If matches are found, they will be presented to you in the form of a list of the people you know who have blogs on WordPress. You can choose to keep up with those individuals by clicking the “Follow” tab next to their name, which will ensure that you are updated through “Blogs I Follow” in the Reader section each time they publish a new post.

Conclusion

It is important to note that the new and improved WordPress Friend Finder feature not only finds contacts on Facebook, but Twitter and Google as well. There are no tedious installations to deal with, so if you’re interested, login into to your WordPress account and give it a try.

A recent Facebook update makes the site look a lot more like Google+. The update in question? Changes to the popular photo viewer feature. This particular update places comments next to photos instead of forcing the user to scroll down to view them, which according to a company representative, helps increase visibility. What we have here is another case of Facebook one-upping the competition. Will Google+ be able to compete if the social giant keeps this up? It’s a tough call, but one that may be possible if Google stays focused on three key areas.

1. New and Unique Features

Google has rolled out a gang of exciting features since releasing Google+ last summer. From optimizing photo tagging functionality to the ability to customize streams, these features have enhanced the platform and made it a worthy contender in the fiercely competitive social space. The one element that Facebook still has not been able to match despite trying is Hangouts, the

video group chat component that accompanied the initial launch. This all good, but in order for Google+ to stay competitive, it must continue to drop new features on a consistent basis.

More importantly, it must deliver functionality that clearly distinguishes it from Facebook

2. Business Users

Back in November of last year, Google+ introduced its long awaited Business Pages, the feature that made it more comparable to Facebook than ever before. The launch of this feature was hailed as a big deal for the simple fact that up until then, brands were forbidden from using the site for marketing purposes at the discretion of Google itself. Google+ could enjoy a sizable advantage over Facebook by taking a small note from LinkedIn and making the platform appealing to brands beyond the new pages. At this point, the only question is whether its previous stance permanently turned off a large number of potential business users.

3. Privacy

In the end, the ability of Google+ to compete with Facebook may lie in its privacy policy. Privacy is a major issue in the social realm, and not even the mighty Facebook has been immune to the backlash that results from introducing changes that make the user community feel uneasy. Google recently announced a major update to its privacy policy, one that will consolidate its dozens of existing policies into a single policy. And while the announcement was met with tons of criticism at first, observers have started to sing a different tune after realizing that the new approach actually has some benefits. With a few tweaks, Google’s privacy policy could prove to be one of its greatest attributes.

Google+ is in a good place right now, but competing with Facebook to the point where it is poised to surpass the social behemoth may be something that never happens. However, that does not mean that it cannot thrive and be a dominant force in the industry.

Then, you will find the information on this page very helpful. To start off the topic, let us find out what it is not…

Easy – This is not to discourage you but to tell you that it requires more than creating several profile pages, posting updates, and uploading photos. You have to comprehend and commit to it, so you can reap great rewards.

Millions of friends – Unless you want to beat Mark Zuckerberg, Lady Gaga, and other social authorities with thousands of followers or friends, you do not need to build a wide network. Instead, you have to make meaningful connections with people who share your passion or interest.

Social networking – It is not simply about being popular in Facebook, Google+, or Twitter. It involves engaging in activities that allow you to promote your beliefs, yourself, or your brand.

And then, there are…

Amazing social media facts

Facebook has an estimated 845 million active users.

There are approximately one million links shared on Facebook per twenty minutes.

There are more than 465 million Twitter accounts.

Google+ has around 90 million members.

Pinterest has more than 10 million users and obtains a million visits each day.

Given these details, you are probably thinking of using it for marketing purposes.

That is a good idea. However, do not jump into it right away. What you should do is get the hang of it by applying…

Easy social media tips for new users

1. Create a page on several social networks

Go ahead and build Web presence by signing up in top websites like Twitter, Google+, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn. You have to establish a blog too, so you can link your own site to your profile pages.

2. Keep your blog compatible to your profile pages

In connection with the first pointer, make sure that you can handle all your accounts if you become a member on many social networks. If you can, then feel free to incorporate it with social media buttons such “share”, “like”, and “follow”.

By doing this, you can…

3. Make it easy for other users to spot you

When you practice the second strategy, you can direct the readers to your social profiles. And, who knows, they might just add you to their list (that is, if you are not a part of their network yet).

4. Create a fan page

Do you have an e-commerce site or an official company website? If you do, then take note of this tip. This way, you can attract users who are actually interested in your brand.

5. Add RSS feeds

By doing this, your readers can obtain updates whenever you have new content. Additionally, you can receive alerts from other users and websites.

6. Promote your profile page on other social network sites

Yes, this is possible. You can do this on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube.

7. Enhance your page

Do you know that several social media sites have customization features? Through this, you can tweak and personalize your profile page according to your preferences.

8. Interact and socialize

Write posts, share links, send messages, and comment on other members or bloggers’ page. You can also join their groups, especially if you share their interests.

9. Start conversations

Apart from sharing posts or commenting on articles, you can form discussions on social network sites too. This is possible even if you do not have install forum software.

10. Update regularly

Would you want to connect with a person whom you only see occasionally? This concept is similar online. You will find it easier to connect with more users within your niche if you post blogs or messages frequently.

Again, these are only basic social media tips. Since you are a beginner, you do not have to hop into advanced strategies right away. Instead, get the hang of posting comments or embedding videos on your page.

Once you are familiar with various functions and features, you can start integrating other methods – like search engine optimization. Then again, that is another matter.

From conferences to seminars, marketers are utilizing social network Twitter to promote all kinds of events. People are also using the platform to find such gatherings, and hashtags are the tool many of them rely on. When someone creates a hashtag, their goal is to create a viral sensation that generates hype and attention for their topic through word of mouth marketing. When it works, using those topics for content ideas becomes a powerful way to capitalize on all the buzz.

Hashtags are extremely popular, but if you talk to a few Twitter users, you will find that they are also a mixed bag of sorts. Some absolutely love them, others find them annoying. The fact of the matter is that they can be an important weapon in your content marketing strategy – if you use them correctly.

Finding the Right Hashtags

Following Twitter hashtags is a savvy way to piggyback on the success of the conferences and seminars taking place in your industry, and turn them into valuable content. Keep in mind, however, that finding the right ones can be a little tricky. Not all hashtags strike gold, so here are some tools that can help you identify those that are worthy to the cause:

Twubs

What we have here is a site that allows active Twitter users to take trending hashtags and build communities around them. Twubs groups them in categories ranging from conferences and movies to books and politics. The site has a nice social element to it, so aside from content ideas, it could also help you make some good connections. Twubs is definitely one of the better hashtag directories out there.

Trendsmap

If you’re a fan of interactive maps, you’ll probably find the Trendsmap useful in your quest. Trendsmap has some pretty slick sophistication behind it as it gives you the ability to find trending hashtags and topics around the world – all in real-time. This tool is actually perfect for tracking down events related to the local area because it allows you to easily find trends by location. Definitely a keeper for the hashtag hunter.

Hashtags.org

This is perhaps the most well known Twitter hashtag directory. It also one of the best. Hashtags.org serves up a user-friendly interface that makes searching for the latest trends a breeze. What we like about this particular site is how it drills down into the performance of the topic at hand. For example, if you’re searching for “#nytechconference”, you can find out the actual times throughout the day, and days during the week that particular hashtag was at its peak popularity. Another valuable tool to have in your arsenal, for sure.

Harnessing the power of hashtags can give your content the type of flair audience members just can’t resist. It can also give you access to a much larger audience. Find the right ones, and you’ll be in good shape with your content marketing program.

]]>http://www.fuelyourblogging.com/follow-event-hashtags-for-post-ideas/feed/0Five new social media plugins for WordPresshttp://www.fuelyourblogging.com/social-wordpress-plugins/
http://www.fuelyourblogging.com/social-wordpress-plugins/#commentsThu, 19 Apr 2012 12:00:35 +0000Francishttp://www.fuelyourblogging.com/?p=3958More individuals and businesses are incorporating social networking into their blogging efforts. With Wordpress being one of the most flexible applications around, it is an ideal fit for this type of integration. Here are five of the latest plugins you can use to combine your blogging and social media initiatives.

1. ShareBar

ShareBar is one of the hottest new social media plugins available for the Wordpress platform. What this tool does is provide an easy way to include links and buttons from your favorite social networks on your blog. These links and buttons can be customized to appear in either a vertical bar that is displayed to the left of your posts, or a horizontal bar that is displayed underneath the title of the post. If you have a strong social presence and want your readers to connect, ShareBar can be a big help.

2. Socialize

The socialize plugin gives you two options for adding social sharing buttons to your Wordpress blog. You can either add them inline via CSS, or the call-to-action box located beneath your posts. Socialize supports all the top social networking and bookmarking sites, and the ability to use CSS gives you virtually endless customization possibilities. While there is currently no type of analytics feature available, you can see how many times your post has been shared across the social web.

3. Tweet2Download

If Twitter is your thing, then you definitely want to add this Wordpress plugin to your collection. Tweet2Download allows you to give away free blog content in exchange for a tweet or follow on trendy social networking site Twitter. It is becoming an increasingly popular option for Wordpress blogs that offer content such as music, video, articles, and other highly sought after material. All in all, Tweet2Download is a great tool for serious Twitter marketers.

4. WP Social Toolbar

Many of the newer Wordpress plugins for social media make it easy for readers to share your content. WP Social Toolbar follows the trend, but does so much more. This plugin gives readers the ability to like your Facebook page and share your content on Twitter, while allowing you to showcase your most recent tweets and links to all your social networks. Best of all, WP Social Toolbar is customizable, so you can select from a broad range colors and fonts as well as decide whether the toolbar appears on the homepage of your blog or only certain pages.

5. SocialMetrics

SocialMetrics is another good Wordpress plugin designed to help bloggers take advantage of social media integration. Hence the name, it lets you view how the posts and pages of your blog are performing across the social web. Compatible with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Digg, and a host of other platforms, this tool is capable of providing valuable insights that can be used to fine-tune your strategy for the best results.

New Wordpress plugins are being released all the time. On the social media front, these new plugins are driving the integration efforts of bloggers throughout the web.

]]>http://www.fuelyourblogging.com/social-wordpress-plugins/feed/3How Bloggers Are Using Pinteresthttp://www.fuelyourblogging.com/pinterest-for-bloggers/
http://www.fuelyourblogging.com/pinterest-for-bloggers/#commentsWed, 28 Mar 2012 01:11:10 +0000Jacqui MacKenziehttp://www.fuelyourblogging.com/?p=3872Whether you have a design blog that focuses on home décor or a business blog on restaurant credit card processing solutions, you’ve likely heard about the newest social media site, Pinterest. The virtual pinboard has caught the attention of the general Internet public, in addition to social media marketers, designers, artists, techies and bloggers.

For everyday Internet users, Pinterest is a simple, visually-appealing bookmarking tool for organizing ideas and inspiration – from recipes to home projects to party planning tips. For social media marketers, Pinterest is becoming an effective way to improve brands and promote products, services and lifestyles.

For bloggers, Pinterest can help you improve your site through inspiration, research, increased traffic and networking opportunities.

Inspire

One of the main purposes of Pinterest is to provide users with an easy way to curate inspiration boards with images that link back to the original source. It’s a bookmarking tool, allowing you to dog ear your favorite images, posts, articles and how-to’s across the Web. Many bloggers use Pinterest to help brainstorm new ideas for blog posts, as the cure for writer’s block can sometimes be as simple as a single image. Or a blogger for Chicago Web designers might create a pinboard of interesting website layouts that inspires him to redesign his entire blog. If a certain image gives you a great idea, be sure to write a few notes in the description and you can pin it away for later use.

Research

Not only can you collect your own inspiration, but by following users with shared interests, you can see what’s trending in your niche. If you write an environmental blog, for example, you can use the Pinterest search bar to see what people are pinning related to “sustainable packaging.” If hundreds of people are repinning images of corrugated cardboard designs, you can focus your next post on corrugated materials and potentially increase how much the post is shared across sites like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

You can also see what people are pinning from your blog by typing pinterest.com/source/yoursite.com in the address bar. This can give you a better idea of the topics that most interest your readers when they visit your site.

Drive Traffic

In February, Pinterest drove more traffic to blogs than Twitter did. Images can have a more powerful effect than headlines and links, with the ability to draw attention and evoke emotion in an instant, while tweets can get hidden among lines of text and are often truncated and poorly written. One way to drive traffic to your site through Pinterest is to create a board for your blog, and pin your own posts. Self-promotion is generally accepted among the Pinterest community, as long as all of your pins are not solely used to promote your blog. Pinning your own images means they should be pin-worthy, as well. With more visually appealing images accompanying each post, you encourage more people to pin from your blog.

Adding a “Pin It” button on your blog makes it even easier for your readers to pin from your site.

Network

At its core, Pinterest is a social site, allowing users to share content with others and providing a great opportunity for bloggers to connect with the blogging community. Follow readers and other bloggers in your niche. Comment on their pins and use the @reply function to mention them in your own pins. Start a contributing board that invites people to share their images on a certain category or topic, and continue the conversation through your blog.

For example, if you write a business blog for a company that provides disposable latex gloves, start a contributing pinboard for Clean Kitchens. Invite fellow bloggers to contribute images of their dream kitchens, and tell your readers to check out the pinboard for inspiration. You’ll engage your readers, connect with other bloggers and build your brand.

Pinterest is currently the hottest ticket in social media, and now officially one of the top 10 social networking sites. The service has become a big hit in such a short amount of time that the business community has had no choice but to take notice. What we are increasingly learning is that Pinterest is so versatile it can support virtually any type of content. Doubt its versatility? Check out some of the content ideas that are proving to work great on Pinterest.

Product Content

If you are a marketer with a product or two to sell, the obvious type content to post to Pinterest is images of the items in your catalog. The cool thing about this new social network is that it allows you to create links, meaning whatever you pin up on your board will lead users directly to the products on your website. Another plus is how Pinterest molds to your creativity, which in this case, means you can showcase your content in variety of ways. For example, instead of just displaying photos of your products, you can share content that explains how they work, or better yet, how people can actually put them to use. This way, you’re tooting your own horn, but still being useful.

Educational Content

Early in the game, we are seeing most businesses and individuals use Pinterest to share photos and other types of images. Be that is it may, this multipurpose platform also happens to be well suited for video, making it an ideal medium for hosting educational content. Pinterest introduced its video pins feature back in August of last year, and to no surprise, the user community has been eating it up every since. So far we have seen the video pins feature be used for everything from how-to’s to interactive cooking lessons. Whether you rely on YouTube or your own site, Pinterest is the perfect place to share your video-based educational content.

Cross Promotional Content

Some of the best content you can pin to your Pinterest board is material from other channels. Depending what you have going on, this could include your website, blog, email campaigns, or even social networks like Facebook or Twitter. And while Pinterest has some rather strict rules in regards to marketing content, there are still ways to effectively cross promote your stuff without violating the terms and conditions. For instance, you can share newsletters, coupons, and even the QR codes you are using in elsewhere to bolster your efforts on Pinterest.

An Exclusive Club

As it stands now, Pinterest is accepting new members on an invitation-only basis. No one knows when or if this will change. Throwing the exclusivity aspect to the side for a second, Pinterest is clearly a social tool with loads of potential, one that could work wonders for your content marketing efforts if you’re lucky enough to get your hands on it.